Chapter Nine
ACROSS THE GALAXY
An attendant cowered as a crystal goblet shattered against the wall beside his head. The
Queen glared at the reporting officer, fire burning in her cold eyes.
"What do you mean the signals that you were getting from the Saiyan Hunters that I had
sent to Earth stopped two months ago? When did you expect to tell me this? I could have had
another group sent out there within a day!" The evil queen growled. She had expected the
Hunters to fare better than they had. Of course they were never as strong as her sons or husband
were, but they knew how to handle Saiyans better than anyone else. With a sneer she looked at
the reporting officer.
"And the Mongrel that we sent with the Hunting party?" The Queen inquired.
"Her signal is still strong. The tracking device we implanted in her is working perfectly.
She is still on the Planet, and is still alive." The officer reported, shaking. The Queen leaned back
in her throne and chuckled. Seeing this, the officer breathed a sigh of relief. With one motion,
the Queen summoned a small fireball and threw it toward the unsuspecting man. He was
disintegrated in an instant. Watching the man's ashes fall to the red carpeting, she motioned to
one of her attendants.
"Clean that up." She sat back in her throne once more, trying to think of what to do next.
Those Earth Saiyans were impossibly powerful, and now the half-breed had joined their ranks.
She could not think of one warrior out of the billions that fought in her armies that would be able
to rival the Saiyans might. With an evil grin on her porcelain white face, an idea began to form in
the Queen's diabolical mind. Who ever said that she needed a warrior to destroy that filthy
mongrel race, what she needed was magick. Her own magick. Calling an attendant to her side,
she leaned close to the small alien woman.
"Bring me my Dewenicatine and the scrolls. There are some conjuring spells that may
work It is time that I took matters into my own hands." The Queen hissed to her underling.
Already she was mentally preparing for the coming encounter with the Saiyans and the half-breed.
* * * *
Bulma sighed as the tenth explosion rocked the house. Since Rettan had left, Vegeta's
mood had been getting worse and worse. He had stayed out all night training, and would barely
even acknowledge her or their son. She didn't know exactly what happened between the two, but
she knew it wasn't good. Rettan just didn't seem like to one who would run out, not without
saying goodbye to her, and especially not without saying a word to Trunks. Sighing again, she
looked over to her son across the breakfast table. His head was bowed as he shoved his food
around on his plate, uninterested.
"Honey, please, you have to eat something." Bulma pleaded with her son. He glanced up
at her and then back at his face. Taking a small bite, he went back to pushing the food around
with his fork. Another explosion rocked the house and Bulma scowled. The expensive
landscaping that she had put in only last spring was laying in ruins outside the of house.
"Mama?" Trunks said quietly. Bulma turned to her son. "Why did Auntie Rettan have to
leave? Did I do something wrong?" Bulma could see the tears well in his eyes. With a small
smile, Bulma stood up and went to her son, dropping to one knee beside him.
"Oh no, honey. She didn't leave because of you. It's, it's just...well, grown-ups have
to...well..." Bulma drifted off, trying to find the right thing to say. Seeing Rettan's spear leaning
against Trunks' chair, she picked it up. It was surprising heavy for what it looked like. Looking
into Trunks' clear blue eyes, she smiled.
"Look honey, if Rettan was mad at you, would she have left her spear here for you to
guard?" Bulma asked, handing it to Trunks. His sad eyes lit up.
"No." He answered quietly. "But then, why'd she leave?" Bulma was searching her mind,
trying to come up with an answer that wouldn't implicate Vegeta. She jumped as she heard a
voice behind her.
"Because of me." Vegeta said softly. He stood in the doorway, arms crossed. His
customary scowl was replaced by a tired haggardness. Bulma knew that Vegeta blamed himself.
That really didn't happen too often, so she knew whatever had happened between them yesterday
was bad. Vegeta looked at his wife and turned around, looking for something else to blow up.
* * * *
Feeling the warmth of the sun on her face, Rettan's eyes fluttered open. Curled into a ball
on the cold sand, she noticed that she was covered with Piccolo's cloak. Breathing in his scent,
she was slightly disappointed that he wasn't an option for her. It felt so right for her laying in his
arms last night. Never in her life had she felt so safe, so protected. Sighing, she knew that it was
probably better this way. She was so relaxed around him because she felt no sexual tension
between herself and the Namek. Climbing to her feet, Rettan lifted her arms above her head and
stretched out. Walking to the water's edge, she searched up and down the beach, looking for the
Namek that helped her through the night. Searching out his ki, she knew that he was far away.
Kneeling at the water's edge, Rettan splashed water on her face, trying to rid her mind of the
horrors that she committed the night before. She had never acted that brutal. There was no
contest in her mind, she knew that those men had to die, but did she really have to be so, so,
Frieza like? Looking at her reflection in the lapping waves, Rettan could still see a pink tinge in
her hair. Grabbing another handful of the rough sand, she sat in the water, trying for several
minutes to get rid of the disgusting stain. Examining her hair in her hands, Rettan knew that she
could do nothing about it, and she could live with the staining, waiting for it to wear off.
Searching the beach for her katana, Rettan found it and her pack sitting not far from where she
fell asleep in the Namek's arms. She smiled, knowing that Piccolo had moved it so there would
be no water damage to the hilt or sheath.
Picking up the beautifully crafted sword, Rettan walked back to the water's edge and knelt
in the sand. Finding where the staining ended, she carefully gathered her hair together, right
above her shoulder line. Sighing loudly, Rettan brought the sword to her hair and cut cleanly
through it. Letting about two and a half feet fall to the sand, she touched her fingers to the ends,
disappointed that she lost the black tips. Rettan already felt like she was over exaggerating
turning her head, she still felt like she had all of the hair to move. She smiled, knowing that the
new length would take some getting used to. Shrugging, Rettan sheathed the katana and walked
slowly through the sand, up to her pack.
Kneeling on the ground, she rummaged through the bag, pulling out the beautiful
mandarin style kung fu uniform. Peeling her soiled clothing off, Rettan happily slipped the soft
silk over her tan skin. Loving the feel, Rettan quickly went through a routine of kicks, front, two
sides and a roundhouse. Pleased by the flexibility of the outfit, she nodded to herself. Reaching
into her pack, Rettan pulled out a tattered white piece of cloth that she promptly wrapped around
her waist, tying it on her right hip. Strapping the sword to her back, Rettan noticed that she
didn't have to adjust the fitting that much because of her hair. Maybe cutting the hair off wasn't
such a bad idea after all.
Turning her thoughts to other matters, she raised herself into the air, searching for the men
that eluded her last night. She burnt the feel of their ki's into her memory. They will still die,
Rettan decided, but they will not suffer. She would at least give the pigs that much. Turning to
the south, she could feel five of the six men that had escaped. Cocking her head to the side, she
felt one of the five remaining disappear, leaving only four. Then it was three... then two... and
then one. Confused, Rettan wondered if the human woman had found them and was taking her
own revenge on the bastards, or if something else was happening. Finally the last ki blinked out
of existence, and Rettan felt relieved. She really didn't want to go and kill more people, no matter
how much she felt they deserved it. The way that she shed blood last night, how easily she
squeezed the life out of those men... Rettan shuttered and looked to the East, toward Capsule
Corp., and Vegeta. Scowling, she did not want to hear that arrogant Prince's voice for a long
time. Feeling Piccolo's ki suddenly flare, Rettan turned back to the south, feeling Piccolo come
toward her. Her eyes narrowed, realizing what he had done. Dropping to the ground, Rettan
found a dead tree that was washed upon beach. Leaning her back on it, she waited for the Namek
to return. Feeling the sun on her face, she felt Piccolo land right beside her. Turning to him, she
looked into his eyes and knew that it was true, he was the one who put those dogs out of their
misery. Looking to the ground, Rettan nodded sadly and turned her face back to the water. She
wished that he didn't do that, but she was betting that he didn't want to risk another massacre like
the night before, because he knew that she would go after the men that raped the human woman.
Piccolo recognized that the nod meant that Rettan knew what he had done. Walking into
the water, Piccolo dipped his green hands in, letting the cool waters clean the blood from them.
He could hear Rettan stand up behind him, and turning he noticed her different appearance.
Without saying a word he walked up to her, and tucked a loose piece of hair behind her ear.
Smiling, she looked away, not wanting to show her friend the actual interest that she felt for him.
Cursing herself, she knew that she was falling for him.
"Oh great idea girl, fall for the one that I know that I can never have." Rettan berated
herself. Looking into his eyes, she smiled. Not wanting to, she pulled back from him and spun.
Trying to keep her mind on something else, she modeled her new fighting uniform for him.
Feeling her face get hot, Rettan was surprised that she actually blushed when he noticed part of
his old cloak wrapped around her waist.
"Looks better on you than it does on me." Piccolo said gruffly and then smiled. Rettan
noted that this was the first time that she had actually seen him smile.
"So,,," Rettan coughed delicately, "What do we do today?" She asked. Piccolo was
stupefied, he had no idea what to do.
"Well, since you're at such a loss for words, how about we train? I think I need a good
run through, I haven't fought intensely since the Hunters." Rettan said she rubbed her shoulder.
Piccolo grinned, Rettan was a girl right after his own heart.
* * * *
Throughout the great Palace, whispered rumors began to fly of unknown beasts
terrorizing the south halls, killing anyone who they may have happened upon. Grinning to herself
in the great throne of her deceased husband, King Cold, the statuesque Queen glanced to her new
consort, a large muscled male whose wit was about as sharp as a spoon. He looked at her
adoringly, and she shuddered. She hated the male already, and it had only been two months since
the last one had met with an unfortunate accident. Of course he was useful in certain areas, and
his innocence in the bed chamber was refreshing, but he was just so stupid! Sighing, the Queen
leaned toward him and whispered in his ear.
"Darling, I've heard these awful rumors about the great beasts that are haunting the
castle's south wing. I've sent many troupes in there, trying to clear the halls. Not one soldier has
survived. I'm frightened for my safety, my love." The Queen faked a frightened whisper.
Smiling, she knew that the heroic idiot took the bait. Kneeling in front of the beautiful queen, the
consort placed his right fist over his heart and smiled sweetly. The Queen felt as she was going to
gag.
"I shall destroy these evil beasts for thee, mine Queen. None shall survive to feel the kiss
of tomorrow's warm sun on their evil faces." The male declared, trying to make his new Queen
feel safe. With a flourish of his red cape, the man turned, walking out of the chamber. The
Queen rolled her eyes, her red lips curling into an evil smile. That is the last time that she takes a
mate from a farming planet, she promised herself. Commanding silence in her throne room, the
Queen sat silently, waiting. Finally she heard what she was waiting for. Muffled screams of her
latest consort filled the hall, and the Queen grinned triumphantly. The beasts were ruthless, and
extremely powerful, she loved it. The screams lasted for several more seconds until a great roar
shook the throne room. Then, there was only silence.
"Bring me the Roganew, my latest choice as consort." The Queen commanded her
attendant. The small woman bowed and walked quickly to the large iron doors. She stopped at
the doorway as the Queen changed her mind.
"Actually, clean him up and send him straight to the bedchambers. Have him ready within
the hour." The Queen ordered absentmindedly. She was excited, knowing that the beasts would
be ready for the damned earthlings that she was so committed to destroying. A great roar ripped
through the castle once again, the beasts were hungry. Scanning the crowd, the Queen looked for
another 'hero' to send to his doom.
* * * *
After several hours of sparring, Rettan and Piccolo began to become accustomed to each
others fighting styles. Piccolo's power and agility meshed well with Rettan's grace and speed,
and soon they were practicing dual attacks on imaginary enemies. Practicing their favorite move,
Piccolo would go for the unseen enemy first, but using her speed, Rettan would pass him, aiming
a barrage of punches at the enemy's upper body, while Piccolo would come in lower, striking with
a flourish of low kicks and then a leg swept. The enemy would then fall to the ground, and
Piccolo would grab Rettan's arms, flipping in the air. This would cause Rettan to also flip, and he
would release her as her body was aimed directly at the enemy on the ground. Basically throwing
her, Piccolo would give Rettan enough momentum for the attack She would land double heeled
on the enemy's sternum, hopefully disabling him, or her. They ran through this attack several
times, perfecting it. Feeling playful, Rettan decided to not allow Piccolo to release her at the end
of one of the practices, causing not only herself to plummet to the ground, but pulling him along
with her. Slamming into the ground, Piccolo landed on top of Rettan and scowled, about to
berate the female warrior for not releasing properly. He stopped as he heard her wild laughter.
Suddenly he realized that she had meant to do it. Looking down at her, his lips curled into a half
smile, and he chuckled to himself. Climbing to his feet, Piccolo extended a hand toward his
friend, and she promptly took it. Rettan pulled herself up, and dusted her clothing off. Running a
hand through her short hair, Rettan noticed through the corner of her eye that the tips were once
again black. With a smile, she shook her hair free of the dirt that covered it, happy that her hair
had returned to normal. Grinning at a seemingly unprepared Piccolo, Rettan jumped into the air
and spun, hoping to land a good roundhouse on the Namek. At the last possible moment, the
Namek ducked and shot a small but powerful ki blast at the half Saiyan. Reversing her
momentum mid kick, Rettan forced her body to the ground, dodging it, and then swept Piccolo's
legs out from under him. With a smile in her eyes, she floated above his chest, her toes brushing
his thick shirt.
"Come on Namek, I thought that you were quicker than that!" Rettan chided him as she
crossed her arms over her chest.
"Yeah? Well..." Piccolo replied as he quickly pushed his lower body into the air,
wrapping his legs around her waist he twisted, pinning Rettan on the ground before she could
even protest. Grinning, he wouldn't release the leg hold that he had on her, no matter how much
she struggled. Finally giving up, she collapsed on the dirt, laughing. Feeling a great rumble in her
stomach, Rettan remembered that she hadn't eaten for two days straight.
"Piccolo?" Rettan struggled to turn to the green skinned warrior. He released the leg
hold and sat up, looking at her. "Piccolo, are you hungry?"
"Well, no, not like you are." He began to explain further as Rettan cocked her head to the
side, with confusion on her face. "Nameks only need to drink water, we don't need to eat food."
"But, can you?" Rettan questioned. When the Namek nodded, Rettan grabbed his hand
and leapt into the sky, dragging him behind her.
"Where are we going?" Piccolo yelled to Rettan, trying to be heard over the air rushing
by them. Turning her head back to look at him, she grinned.
"We are going hunting, Namek. And you... you are going to like it."
* * * *
After the sun dipped below the horizon, Rettan lead Piccolo to a mountain range, grinning
all the way. She hadn't been hunting since her days on Planet Vegeta, and hunting was always
something she loved to do. Landing in a densely wooded area, she signaled Piccolo for silence,
and she immediately went into a crouch. Piccolo looked at Rettan quizzically, she didn't need to
use stealth to hunt any of the animals on this planet. She was far too powerful for any beast to
even have a chance against her. Glancing at him, she knew what he was thinking, but to her, it
wasn't the thrill of the battle this time, it was the thrill of the hunt. Keeping her powers out of it,
Rettan let her Saeriyan hearing kick in, and she zeroed in on an animal only twenty yards to her
left. She turned and made her way through the dense underbrush, weaving in and out of
branches, careful not to make a sound. She could see the outline of the beast in the moonlight,
and she took another measured step, her heart pounding with anticipation. The animal was four
legged, and it was covered with a beautiful tan hide. There was a great set of antlers on the top of
its head, and it's neck was corded with thick muscle, apparently to hold up the enormous rack.
Rettan was taken aback by it's beauty, it's sheer grace and power. Feeling her hunger grow in her
stomach, she knew that she didn't want to kill this majestic beast. Finding a twig close to her
right foot, Rettan snapped it in half with her the toe of her shoe. Piccolo watched as the white
tailed deer raised it's great head as it heard the snap, its ears twitching. He looked to Rettan,
wondering what she was doing, why she hadn't attacked yet. He almost went for the deer as it
bounded away, but Rettan's arm stopped him. He looked down at her and she smiled back at
him, a smile that made his heart leap.
Raising herself into the air, Rettan turned, searching for something. Piccolo joined her and
shook his head, he had no idea what she was doing.
"Something wrong?" He asked gruffly. He began to berate himself for speaking so
roughly, but stopped as soon as Rettan flashed another smile his way. He could tell that she was
beginning to become accustomed to him, the way he talked, the way he acted. Rettan turned to
him, her head cocked slightly to one side.
"What?" He demanded. Being at her side for only a couple of days, Piccolo already knew
that when she cocked her head to the side like that, she was planning something, something to do
with him.
"Nothing." Rettan said sweetly. "So, where is the nearest town? I think that buying
some food would be a little better, and healthier, for the animals at least." Rettan said as she
pulled a small plastic rectangle from her pack.
"Where'd you get that?" Piccolo asked the grinning woman.
"Bulma. She said that I could use it to buy things on this planet, so that's just what I'm
going to do." Rettan smiled as she flew higher into the air, searching the landscape for a town.
Finding one just to her north, Rettan shot forward suddenly, leaving Piccolo in her wake. The
Namek's ears popped as Rettan broke the sound barrier right beside him, and he had to power up
slightly to try to catch up. He loved these little games that Rettan played, always pushing the
Namek to do more. Kicking into a higher gear, Piccolo caught up to her, and grinned. Rettan
grinned back at him, happy that she was sharing her time with the Namek. She stopped suddenly,
hovering above the small mountain town. Piccolo stopped only ten feet in front of her, and she
was impressed that his reflexes were so fast, considering the speeds that they were reaching.
"So Namek, how do the humans react to your green face?" Rettan said as she jabbed
Piccolo in the ribs with her elbow. He just shrugged, never really caring. Rettan already knew
what the answer was, but she loved bugging the Namek about how ignorant these humans were
about other races. She could tell, Earthlings had a long way to go before they ever really began
interacting with other planets. The level of ignorance these humans displayed was incredible, but
having such powerful beings like the Saiyans and the Nameks representing the planet, no one
would really even think of attacking the it without good cause. Rettan shrugged her shoulders
and grinned at the Namek that floated in the air beside her.
"Piccolo, you know that I won't intentionally start any trouble in the town, right?" Rettan
looked into his eyes. He smiled and shrugged again, not really knowing the answer. "Look
Namek, I promise that I'll be back in an hour. Trust me." She handed the Namek her katana, and
before she knew what she was doing, Rettan leaned in close to Piccolo and kissed his cheek
lightly. Turning away from him quickly, Rettan dropped through the air, cursing herself over and
over. What the hell was that? Why did she have to go and do that? She was attracted to the
Namek, there was no doubt about that, but there was no chance in hell that he would ever be even
able to return her affections. Glancing at the mountain fed lake that lapped at the shores of the
town Rettan shook her head. She was tempted to go and jump into the frigid waters, thinking
that it would be the equivalent of a cold shower.
If Rettan had even glanced at Piccolo's face after her 'mistake', her thoughts may have
been extremely different. Of course, the Namek was surprised by the move, but his surprise soon
turned to a sort of longing as he watched Rettan quickly fly away from him, away from the
embrace he would have drawn her into if she had only stayed a little longer. Shaking the thoughts
from his head, Piccolo turned away from the town and searched the landscape below, trying to
find a good place for himself and Rettan to rest for the night. Finding a secluded meadow at the
side of the lake just below him, Piccolo landed on the soft grass and sat cross legged, berating
himself, trying like mad to concentrate on his training, instead of how Rettan's soft lips felt
against his skin.
* * * *
It was 47 minutes and 23 seconds until Rettan returned to Piccolo's side. In her arms
were bags upon bags of groceries, and as she landed, she busied herself with gathering wood and
building a fire. Piccolo's heart sank as he watched her work, she wouldn't even look at him.
Wanting to kick himself, he guessed that Rettan noticed his moves to embrace her, and that he
scared her away. He wanted with all his heart to fix the damage that was done to her, and his
anger began to build as he thought of everything that had happened to her. Pushing his rage
down as he felt his ki flare, Piccolo noticed Rettan glancing his way with a concerned look on her
face. Not wanting to be caught watching her, Piccolo looked away, pretending to be interested in
the rotting log twenty feet to his left.
Rettan finished cooking the meat that she had purchased at the only grocery store in the
town, and went on to another pot to check on the potatoes. Rettan was grateful that Bulma had
showed her how to prepare earth foods, even if Bulma herself was not so great a cook. Not
wanting to look at Piccolo because she was embarrassed by her behavior earlier, she kept herself
busy with the food. Suddenly, she could feel his ki flare, and she thought that he may be angry
with her. Glancing toward him, she noted that he wouldn't even look at her. She began to shake,
she didn't want to lose this Namek who had become such a great friend in the past few days.
Swallowing her pride, Rettan separated the food onto two metal plates, and walked to Piccolo's
side. She handed him the plate and he took it, his hand slightly brushing hers. Rettan was happy
for even that minuscule contact, and she sat across from him, eating her food in silence.
Piccolo tested the food that Rettan had given him, finding that he didn't mind it too much.
To his surprise, Rettan had prepared a lot of vegetables like spinach and celery, both high in water
content. When Piccolo came to the meat however, his nose crinkled. Watching his face Rettan
almost laughed aloud, noting how uncharacteristic (and cute) that move was. Not wanting to
force him to eat the food just for her sake, Rettan jumped to her feet and walked over to the bags
of uncooked food, rummaging through them. She pulled out a large canteen filled to the brim
with water. Smiling softly, she handed the canteen to the Namek and sat back down. He nodded
his thanks and popped off the lid. Eating the rest of their supper in silence, Rettan's mind began
to drift back to the days when she was stationed with the Ginyu force. Trying to shake the
thoughts from her mind, the woman scowled, a move that Piccolo did not miss. He could tell her
eyes were distant, that she was thinking of something unrelated to where they were, and what
they themselves were doing.
In Rettan's mind, she could almost smell the dungeons they kept her in. She would stay
there until she was needed, for a mission, or, for other things. She shuddered, pushing the
thoughts away, trying to focus on where she was and who she was with. Rettan jumped to her
feet and scrapped the remaining pieces of food that was left on her plate into the blazing fire. She
was shaking now, almost uncontrollably. Slowly, trying to regain her composure, she walked
over to Piccolo's side and sat down, staring into the fire. She dared not touch him, for fear that
doing so may drive him off. Noticing her shaking, Piccolo couldn't stop himself as he slide closer
to her and wrapped his strong arms around her. Relieved that she didn't pull away, Piccolo
stroked her short hair as she clutched his shirt, allowing his warmth to seep into her.
"Thank-you." Piccolo could hear Rettan whisper into his chest. Her shaking quickly
subsided, and the Namek felt extremely lucky to be the one who was able to calm the pained
woman. Watching the fire, the Namek knew that Rettan had fallen asleep in his arms and he
could only smile, knowing that she was one more step closer to defeating the demons that
haunted her.
***Okay, I'm betting that all who have read this before pretty much know what is going to be
changed in the next chapter. Please, review."""
